How do I professionally argue that I won't work for free?

Question

Context: I've studied Biochemistry and while working in a lab I've studied Computer Science parallel.

As programmer I've done a (paid) freelancer project which involved exactly the technology the company is using for which I'm going to apply.

I'm now in the process of preparing for interviews and my concern is that HR will come up with the suggestion that I should work x months as (unpaid) intern or something. I don't know whether this is going to happen or not but I would like to be prepared if it becomes a topic, so...

Question: How do I argue in a professional manner that I am not going to work for free ?

EDIT

More Context: I will apply for a paid position, however I think they might ask me to do a certain period as unpaid intern before giving me the job. Therefore my question: I don't want to work for free at all but how should I react when they ask me to do so even though I will have applied for the paid position?

The company might try this move simply to not heaving to pay me during that time. Something I can understand.

Answer 1

First of all before applying for the position you have to understand if the position is unpaid intern, low paid intern, or full-time paid position.

Based on the fact that you feel that you are a perfect match for the technology, and you have a degree; you may even be able to defend that you deserve a little more than the minimum salary in the range they are offering.

If it is an internship you will not be able to do much to change that. They have a need and they have a budget. If the salary you need doesn't fit in that budget bucket, they are unlikely to pay you what you would like. You would be asking them to overpay for the level of effort they are looking for. The position you want may not be open for months, or it may never be open with the company.

If the job posting doesn't clearly mention that it is a full-time paid position, then ask before applying. Or apply, and ask at the first opportunity such as the phone interview.

Answer 2

1. When they offer you an unpaid internship, say that you appreciate the offer, but that you were under the impression that you would be interviewing for a paid position. Then wait for their response.
2. When they do not make an offer, point out that you can prove that you already have experience which means that you will be a productive employee from day one and don't require much training, so you believe that you deserve to be paid from day one.
3. Should that not work, say that you depend on the income and can simply not afford to work for free for x months, so accepting an unpaid position is simply not possible for you.
4. When that does not work out either, the last resort is to say that you believe that with your qualifications, you can easily get a paid offer from another company (or bluff that you already have one). But unless they really, really want you for the job, playing this card will be the end of the interview.

Keep in mind that the company might already have made the decision to only hire an unpaid intern for the position, so the person you talk to might simply not be allowed to offer you a paid one, no matter what you say. In that case there is just no chance to change their mind. All you can do in this case is walk out and look for another position.

Answer 3

I suppose this depends on where you are going to look for job opportunities, but in my experience, the assumption on any "help wanted" ad is that it is for a full-time, paid position, unless specified otherwise in the ad. I suppose that assumption may not be valid for certain types of job, like working in a fast food place, but I think that would be the normal assumption for any technical job.

If when you talk to them they tell you this is an unpaid internship, as someone else on here said, there's no need to "argue" about anything. Just tell them, "Oh, I'm sorry, I misunderstood. I'm looking for a paid position." If they reply that they are not willing to pay someone for this job, then you politely say that you are sorry for the miscommunication and you hope they will keep you in mind when a paid position opens up. Then you shake hands and leave. There is pretty much zero point in continuing the interview. It is very unlikely that this is a negotiating ploy on the part of the company. I've never heard of a company offering a salary of $0 and then negotiating a real full-time professional salary. Sure, if they say, "Well, we do have a paid position open also ..." and want to talk further, fine.

Personally, I've been in the computer business since 1980, and I have never, ever, showed up for a job interview and had the company tell me that this was an unpaid internship. Companies looking to get interns normally clearly state that a position is an internship.